MINNESOTA
Makato Free Press
Posted: Wednesday, September 17, 2014
By Dan Nienaber dnienaber@mankatofreepress.com
An abusive priest, who a top church official with the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis described as one of the “most abusive” to work in the archdiocese, spent time serving parishes in Gaylord and Sleepy Eye.
That description of the Rev. Louis Heitzer, who served as a priest from 1942 until he died in 1969, was made by former Vicar Gen. Kevin McDonough, the next highest-ranking official after the archbishop. He was responding to a letter written to him in 2002 by a woman concerned about the sexual abuse her brother and other boys experienced while Heitzer was working in Franklin from 1950 to 1954.
“As I have come to know more about what Louis Heitzer did, I believe he was perhaps the most abusive priest to ever be a part of this archdiocese,” McDonough’s letter said. “I now believe he abused boys every place he went.”
The letter was in Heitzer’s priest file, which had been provided by the archdiocese for a court case where an abuse victim is being represented by the Jim Anderson & Associates law firm. The firm is working with many victims throughout the state and has been leading an effort to have Catholic leaders release all the information they have about abusive priests who work, or have worked, in Minnesota.
There are 185 pages of information in the Heitzer file showing he spent much of his time as a priest working in churches that are now part of the New Ulm Diocese. The documents also show archbishops were very aware of numerous allegations against him by parishioners and their children. As the allegations arose Heitzer was moved to different churches.
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